In some parts of Jerusalem, people were making snowmen while others were having snowball fights.

The city's mayor is expected to judge a snowman competition on Wednesday afternoon.

'Simple pleasures'

"Of course it's cold and wet," said Evyator Rubin, 13, making a snowball. "But because it snows so little here it's great when it does happen."

Many people took the day off leaving the streets deserted of traffic

"I don't need to go to school today and I had a science exam."

All Jerusalem's schools, universities and courthouses were closed for the day.
The public transport system is working on a scaled-back timetable.

Some of the offices in the city are shut but a number of shops and restaurants are open.
Many Israeli commuters took the day off and the streets are largely empty of cars.

Inna Kanaan, 31, walked to work. The Russian-born architect says that the snow reminded her of her home before she emigrated to Israel.

"There was more snow in Russia, but this is good. It breaks the routine of waking up and just going to work," she said, removing her earmuffs before speaking. "It's good to enjoy nature's simple pleasures."

The Jerusalem municipality made preparations for the snow which had been forecast for days. It had 100 snow-ploughs ready to clear the city's main streets.

A ritual among a small section of the city's ultra-orthodox Jewish community is to purify themselves by rubbing snow on their foreheads.

While snow in Jerusalem is unusual, elsewhere snowfall is more common. In the occupied Golan Heights in the north of the country there is a ski-resort.

By midday, the snow was still falling in Jerusalem. But some of the city's streets were turned into streams as the snow began to melt.

A cold weather snap has hit Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, causing several fatalities.